The schools, like most in states that have legalized recreational pot, feel compelled to follow federal law and not run the risk of losing millions in funding.

Colleges and marijuana may be linked in the public consciousness, but the two still don’t go together in Maine – not officially, at least – despite the drug’s legalization earlier this week. Colleges and universities throughout Maine have been reminding students that marijuana is still prohibited on their campuses, regardless of pot’s new legal status elsewhere for those 21 and older. It’s a textbook case of political irony, given that many of those colleges are located in towns that tilted heavily for legalization last November in a campaign where the statewide margin of victory was just 4,000 votes.

The federal law and the state law are in conflict with one another and our perspective is – like many of our fellow institutions of higher education – that we will continue to follow federal law

said Joshua McIntosh, Bates College’s vice president for student affairs and dean of students. 'Our approach to it and our policies toward it remain unchanged and will likely remain unchanged until that conflict between the state and federal governments gets worked out.' Same goes for most, if not all, institutions of higher learning in Maine.